At the time of the interview, audiences hadn’t seen Carmack’s character gay country singer Will Lexington step in front of a train. The end of the episode was a cliff hanger, and Carmack said nothing to clear things up for viewers.

But he did say his time spent working on the drama in Nashville had “opened up a lot of cross opportunities” for everyone. For example, cast members have played the “Grand Ole Opry” on several occasions and had songs on the series’ soundtracks. Jonathan Jackson, who is Avery Barkley on the show, recently signed a record deal.

“Everyone has been quite a bit more than a hobbyist in terms of music in their own personal lives, but there’s a big difference between that being a passion and that being a career choice,” said Carmack, who plays jazz saxophone and blues guitar and writes blues songs. “Here, we are given some really cool opportunities because of the show we’re on. Country is new to me so I hope I’m pulling it off.”

Sometimes Carmack sells his character so well that there’s confusion when he goes into public: Is he an actor, a country singer, or both?

“I think what throws people for a loop is that it’s called ‘Nashville,’” he said. “We’re filming it here in Nashville at real Nashville locations, so you see me on stage at Rippy’s playing a few songs and then somebody runs into me next week at Rippy’s, and it throws them a little bit. (People) do sometimes confuse things, but understandably so. There’s a blurring between reality and fantasy a little bit on this show.”

Manager Pete Fisher left former Olympic champion Scott Hamilton on the pitcher’s mound even as Hamilton was battered in a 13-run fourth inning, and the Grand Ole Opry team hung on for a 29-27 victory over “After Midnite with Blair Garner” in the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge Saturday morning at Greer Stadium.

“A great athlete will always dig deep and rally,” Hamilton said after the game. “Pete helping me like that put me in the right frame of mind to rise up and know that this game was bigger than me.”

Lots of things are bigger than Hamilton, whose at-bats were accompanied by strains of Randy Newman’s 1970s anthem, “Short People.”

Maggie Rose of the Opry squad was named the game’s most valuable player yet contributed quite little to the victory. She won via a Twitter competition, and her surprising popularity in the face of little athletic accomplishment makes her the Tim Tebow of celebrity softball.

“I’m very honored, humbled and confused,” Rose said.

Jonathan Jackson -– probably the only non-Australian cast member of ABC’s hit television show, “Nashville" -- caught for the Opry and showed surprising power to all fields. Jackson was a calming clubhouse presence, in spite of being mean to Clare Bowen’s character in the television show.

“There was considerably less drama behind the plate than in any ‘Nashville’ episode,” Fisher said.

Playing softball for the first time in his life, Craig Campbell looked terrible out there.

“I’m just trying not to get hit by the ball,” Campbell said.

The celebrities raised money for cancer research and set a new world record for infield singles.

A staple of CMA Music Festival weekend, the annual softball game puts country stars side-by-side with City of Hope patients in a fun game to raise money for City of Hope’s research, treatment and education programs. The Celebrity Softball Challenge has raised more than $2 million. City of Hope’s main hospital is located in Duarte, Calif., just northeast of Los Angeles, with clinics in Antelope Valley and South Pasadena.

It’s fun for everyone to be together away from the stage, McCreery said, especially for a good cause. The country artist is scheduled for this year’s game, which takes place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Greer Stadium.

“When we’re out there, we’ve all got big smiles on our faces,” McCreery said. “It means a lot to us as artists.”

It was a last-minute addition to this year's Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival - a show at 3rd & Lindsley featuring "Nashville" musical directors/contributors Colin Linden and Buddy Miller, along with "surprise cast members" from the ABC primetime drama.

It turned out those "surprise cast members" included virtually every musical member of the show's cast, all the way up to its biggest stars - Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere - who both made their live Music City debuts at the end of Tuesday night's show.

Britton (who plays country star Rayna Jaymes) joined Charles Esten (Deacon Claybourne) to perform a song from a future episode called "At the End of the Day," and Panettiere shared the stage with local songsmith and frequent "Nashville" contributor Kate York to sing "Telescope."

Newcomer Chris Carmack - who's set to make his debut as "Will" on Wednesday night's episode - also made an appearance. Non-singing castmates Robert Wisdom and Judith Hoag were among the friends cheering them on.

Several more "Nashville" songwriters took the stage throughout the evening, including Gary Nicholson, Tyler James and Sarah Buxton.

Click the image for more photos from 'Opry at the Ryman' (photo: Sanford Myers/The Tennessean)

By MICHAEL MCCALL
Associated Press

Various Artists, "The Music Of Nashville: Original Soundtrack" (Big Machine)

Among the characteristics the network TV drama "Nashville" gets right about its namesake city is the music. Guided by musical director T Bone Burnett, the new series presents a passable and often entertaining facsimile of country radio hits as well as samples of the less commercial side of the city's music scene.

The hourlong evening soap features vocals by several of its main characters. The most convincing work comes from an upstart acoustic duo played by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio, best represented on the album by "If I Didn't Know Better," and a rising starlet portrayed with convincing fierceness by Hayden Panettiere, who has received radio airplay for her pop-country dance tune, "Telescope."

Actors Connie Britton and Charles Esten, as a veteran country star and her longtime guitarist, don't have the vocal chops of the top singers in Music City. But they perform well enough onstage (especially on the ballad "No One Will Ever Love You") while displaying their dramatic talents when the microphones are off.

The biggest musical disappointment is the shaggy rocker Jonathan Jackson, who lacks the charisma of the others. On the soundtrack, he fails to sharpen the edge of "Twist of Barbwire," an Elvis Costello composition.

Still, most of the recordings on the "Nashville" soundtrack rate with what Music City regularly produces — thereby achieving the show's goal.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: The quietly conveyed "When the Right One Comes Along," performed by Bowen and Palladio, features the kind of subtly emotional songwriting heard nightly by patrons of Nashville's fabled Bluebird Cafe (recreated in exacting detail in the TV drama).

A banner at the corner of Eighth Avenue at Church Street advertises ABC’s new country music drama, part of a national campaign to promote the show. (photo: Samuel M. Simpkins / The Tennessean)

Kristin Helm decided to get away from her Franklin home last week and take a vacation in New York City — but no matter where she went in the Big Apple, she couldn’t escape “Nashville.”

From billboards in Times Square to signs on buses and above subway entrances, Helm saw advertisements for the highly anticipated TV drama — which will premiere on ABC on Wednesday night — all over Manhattan.

“I think I’ve seen it as much as I’ve seen ads for ‘The Good Wife’ or ‘Dexter’ and some other already established shows,” she said. “It doesn’t surprise me when I see it in Nashville, but when I saw it this much, in New York City, that surprised me more.”

Locals have been talking about the show — set in Music City and centered on two fictitious country music rivals and a surrounding cast of music-industry figures, politicians and fledgling artists — since it began shooting on location in Nashville in March. In the past few months, via a big promotional campaign from ABC, word has spread on a national scale, and much of the advance buzz has been encouraging.Continue reading →